After getting drenched by Powerade by teammates, Lincecum changed into a personalized USMNT jersey and a knight’s helmet. As the team waited on the opposite side of the clubhouse, champagne in hand, Lincecum walked towards them chanting, “Yes! Yes! Yes!” à la WWE Superstar Daniel Bryan—complete with the fingers pointing upward and arms thrust up with each “Yes!”

During the postgame press interview, the 30-year-old said that he felt it was going to be a good day once he got a hit. When he got hit number two, he felt the stars were even more aligned than he previously thought.

“It’s fun when you can actually put the pieces together on both sides of the field,” Lincecum said. “Obviously, we’re not asked to hit all that much, but to be out on the base paths to give the team a chance, that’s actually the part that I was really most impressed with myself.”

It hasn’t been since the Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Rick Wise had two home runs in his no-hitter in 1971 that a pitcher has had multiple hits in a no-hitter.

While Lincecum was impressed by his performance at the plate, his opponents have not had as much luck against him when the pitcher is on the mound. In July of last year, Lincecum threw his first no-hitter against San Diego. On Wednesday, he became the second pitcher to throw two no-nos against the same team, with the first to do so being Hall of Famer Addie Joss (against the Chicago White Sox in 1908 and 1910).

He joins Roy Halladay, Randy Johnson, and Sandy Koufax as the fourth pitcher who has both multiple Cy Young Awards and multiple no-hitters. Lincecum and Koufax are the only two that can boast multiple Cy Young Awards, no-hitters, and World Series rings.

The no-hitter statistics show a glimpse of what many feel is a reflection of what a dominant pitcher Lincecum can be—something that his season numbers don’t quite mirror. It isn’t just Lincecum; the entire team has been struggling, going for 9.5 games up in the NL West to a 3-game lead a little over two weeks later.

“The club really needed it,” Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. “We’ve gone through a tough stretch here, so this is good for the whole club.”

This may be what kickstarts the team into a gear they have been missing during their June swoon. The influence this has on the Giants is yet to be seen, but as an immediate result, Lincecum intends on going home to celebrate his second no-hitter, noting he may even “drink a little bit.”

After two no-hitters thrown against them in consecutive years from Lincecum, the Padres may do the same.

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Stepping into her first park, Bay Area native Claire Reclosado instantly fell in love with baseball. Combining her adoration of sports and writing, covering the San Francisco Giants, Oakland A's, and Bay Area ballplayers came naturally to her. In addition to Bay Area teams, Claire has published work on the Philadelphia Phillies and AMA Road Racing. Her work has been featured on various online sports news outlets, including FoxSports, CBSSports, and Deadspin.
Contact Claire so she can simultaneously analyze and exchange ideas with you.

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